Irish/Ness is All Around Us: Language Revivalism and the Culture of Ethnic Identity in Northern Ireland (Integration and Conflict Studies 6)

Description

Focusing on Irish speakers in Catholic West Belfast, this ethnography on Irish language and identity explores the complexities of changing, and contradictory, senses of Irishness and shifting practices of 'Irish culture' in the domains of language, music, dance and sports. The author's theoretical approach to ethnicity and ethnic revivals presents an expanded explanatory framework for the social (re)production of ethnicity, theorizing the mutual interrelations between representations and cultural practices regarding their combined capacity to engender ethnic revivals. Relevant not only to readers with an interest in the intricacies of the Northern Irish situation, this book also appeals to a broader readership in anthropology, sociology, cultural studies, history and political science concerned with the mechanisms behind ethnonational conflict and the politics of culture and identity in general.

About Author

Olaf Zenker is Ambizione Research Fellow (SNSF) at the Institute of Social Anthropology at the University of Bern, Switzerland. He received his PhD from the Martin Luther University and the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle/Saale, Germany, and was also a postdoctoral researcher in the Max Planck Fellow Group Law, Organization, Science, & Technology. His publications include the co-edited volume Beyond Writing Culture: Current Intersections of Epistemologies and Representational Practices (Berghahn Books, 2010).

Contents

DedicationEpigraphList of Tables, Figures, MapsAcknowledgementsGlossaryPROLOGUEChapter 1. A Walk of Life: Entering Catholic West BelfastChapter 2. Framing the Research: Analytical Approach and Methodology The Analytical Framework for the Study of Ethnic Identity (and the Irish Language) On MethodologyPART I: THE IRISH LANGUAGE IN CATHOLIC WEST BELFASTChapter 3. Failte isteach - Welcome InChapter 4. Becoming a Gaeilgeoir Roibeard, age 63 Ronan, age 61 Mairead, age 58 Micheal, age 55 Donal, age 49 Fiona, age 47 Pol, age 47 Padraigin, age 40 Sinead, age 33 Caoimhin, age 17 Preliminary observationsChapter 5. On Prophets, Godfathers, Rebels and Prostitutes:a Contemporary History of the Irish language in Catholic West Belfast Emerging structural contexts for the Irish language in the 1950s: a prehistory Prophets on the moral 'High Meadow': the Cumann Cluain Ard From a hedge(d) school to Irish language industries: godfathers of the Irish language Rebels with/out a political cause: the Jailtacht and beyond Prostitutes of the Irish language? ConclusionsChapter 6. 'Our own native language': Local Representations and Practices of the Irish language Between purism and pragmatism: the micro-dynamics of Irish language usage The political hijacking of the Irish language revival: the meso-dynamics of supply and demand 'Our own native language?' The macro-dynamics of rights activism, ethnicism and nationalism ConclusionsPART II: IRISH IDENTITY IN CATHOLIC WEST BELFASTChapter 7. 'It's part of what we are' - Identifying IdentityChapter 8. Becoming (Aware of) Who You Are: Irish Roibeard, age 63 Ronan, age 61 Mairead, age 58 Micheal, age 55 Donal, age 49 Fiona, age 47 Pol, age 47 Padraigin, age 40 Sinead, age 33 Caoimhin, age 17 Preliminary observationsChapter 9. Casting Nets of Identity: a Contemporary History of Irishness in Catholic West Belfast 'A constant counter-narrative to the dominant narrative of the society': emerging structural contexts for/eclosing Irishness in Northern Ireland No games, just sports? Gaelic games and the playground of Catholic West Belfast 'If you feel like singing, do sing an Irish song': Irish music in Catholic West Belfast Knowing how to do your sevens: dancing to the tune of Irishness in Catholic West Belfast ConclusionsChapter 10. 'Something inside so strong': Local Representations and Practices of Irishness What it takes to be Irish The Irishness of Protestants and the politics of a classificatory anomaly Autochthony as the causal logic behind ethnicity ConclusionsEPILOGUEChapter 11. 'Trying to make sense of it all': Identity Matters in Catholic West BelfastPOST SCRIPTUMBibliographyIndex